THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 71 



nonympha, Hipparchia, Satyrus, Chionobas, and in part, Chrysophanus. 

 Females of all other genera, so far as I know, will die rather than oviposit 

 when their respective plants are not present, and it is necessary also that 

 the plants be bright and fresh ; when even slightly wilted the insects will 

 ignore them, and die without ovipositing. 



Having thus stated the matter generally, let me now give more in 

 detail the habits of some typical species of both groups as to ovipositing, 

 and my experiences in getting eggs from them. Parnassius Hermodur, 

 when ovipositing, alights upon the ground among the grass and crawls 

 about in a restless way at random, dropping egg after egg as they mature 

 indiscriminately upon the bare ground or dead rubbish or wherever they 

 may chance to fall. When thus engaged she is as readily approached as if 

 feeding on flowers. When tne $ is confined in a bag she is not unruly 

 but remains rather quiet, scattering her eggs about, singly, as they ripen, 

 and most of the eggs attach to the gauze of the bag, to which they adhere 

 but slightly. I have never observed ovipositing of F. Sminthetcs, but 

 believe it to be identical with Hermodicr, as related. The habits of all 

 the other genera named are the same in this particular, that the eggs are 

 laid singly, and not in masses, as is the habit of some genera. 



Different species of Argynnids have different methods of ovipositing, 

 but none that I know of require a plant. A. Callippe goes crawling 

 about on the ground and under bushes like a Parnassian, and 

 oviposits by extending the abdomen down among the dead twigs and dry 

 leaves like a grasshopper. This habit renders the species somewhat 

 difficult to manage in a bag, as the eggs will be pushed down into the 

 ground if possible. Other species, as Semiramis, oviposit on the wing 

 without ever alighting, but hovering over suitable places and dropping the 

 eggs at pleasure. The reason for this peculiar habit seems to be to avoid 

 small lizards, which abound and which are alert to seize any flying 

 insect. Se/niramis is a difficult species to manage in confinement. 

 Lively, vigorous and restless, they take confinement hardly. When 

 ovipositing in a gauze bag they drop the eggs at random, and only a few 

 become attached to the gauze, but most of them drop to the bottom, 

 where they are likely to be lost unless precaution be taken. A. Leto 

 also oviposits on the wing. In 1890 I took a fine ? Leto near Mt. 

 Shasta, in northern California, and as I was on my journey southward 

 and could not well wait to get eggs in the usual way, I put her in a 

 small tin box without any food or plant except a few blades of grass to 



